102 
GUIDE TO THE 
and devoured by Crocodiles. So serious was the loss of 
birds from this cause that on one occasion the water was 
run off, to as low a level as possible, and the bottom of the 
lake was dragged for crocodiles, but with no result, as they 
buried themselves in the mud, according to their habit. 
Two species occur, Crocodihis pcilustris and Gavialis gau¬ 
ge ticus, but the former only is destructive to birds, whilst 
the latter preys upon fish. Specimens of both species have 
been shot, but, as the Gardens are nearly surrounded by 
public thoroughfares, this method of destroying them 
had to be discouraged. But even supposing it were once 
successful, the fact that crocodiles migrate from tank to 
tank and from nullah to nullah during the rains, would 
make it only a temporary riddance, for the lakes would 
be again stocked with these pests in the following rains. 
On one occasion a crocodile over six feet in length was 
killed in the Gardens close to the entrance Gate. These 
facts explain why this fine sheet of water, which affords 
such a splendid surface for the display of a variety of 
aquatic birds, is so destitute of bird-life. 
The section Crocodilia includes three distinct groups, 
viz., Crocodiles, Alligators and Gavials. The Crocodiles are 
restricted to the Old World, and are distinguished from 
the Alligators, which extend from the Lower Mississipi 
and Texas throughout tropical America, and are to be 
found nowhere else, by the way in which the first or 
canine tooth and the fourth tooth of the lower jaw fit into 
the upper jaw. In the Crocodile, the first tooth fits into 
a pit in the upper jaw, and the fourth tooth into a groove 
on the outside of the jaw ; whereas in the Alligator both 
of these teeth fit into pits. In the Gavial, the first and the 
fourth tooth both fit into grooves on the outside of the 
